Duke By The Numbers

WE'RE BACK FOR MARCH! Duke plays Oral Roberts on Thursday. Should Duke fans be supremely confident? Should Duke fans be terrified? The answer, as always, lies somewhere in the middle. I'm joined by America's favorite objective college basketball voice, Jim Root from the Three Man Weave, to discuss Oral Roberts's play style, how Duke beats Oral Roberts, how Oral Roberts beats Duke, and other various matchup-related questions. We also play true or false with some of the claims from Twitter: Can a Summit team handle a high major team's physicality? Is this Oral Roberts team better than the one in 2021 that made the Sweet 16? Where would Oral Roberts finish in this year's ACC? Finally, we look ahead and unpack the various matchups in the East for Duke-- and discuss why, if Duke can escape a first round upset, Duke can make a deep run into the second weekend. Which teams should Duke fans be rooting for that would present an easier matchup for Duke? Which teams should we root to get upset? And how many ACC wins do we expect in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament? All these questions and more are answered. Per usual, shoot any and all feedback to @DukeBetter, and I'll hope to improve with Episode 15. And go follow Jim on Twitter-- @2ndChancePoints-- and check out his podcasts and YouTube shows. As always, #DDMF and #GTHC.

It's hard to not overreact to the first week of Duke basketball-- and yet overreact we do. Never you fear, however: I am here to help you understand whether your small sample size reaction is justified or completely out of line. We talk Jaylen Blakes, Christian Reeves's redshirt, Flip's start to the season, the quality of Duke's defense, and more. I also discuss how weak the ACC is for the second straight year-- and I preview the Duke-Kansas game to the best of my ability given the small sample we have from both teams. Per usual, please shoot any and all feedback to @DukeBetter, and I'll hope to improve with Episode 17. And if you haven't, please set your DVRs to record In Merry Measure, airing on Hallmark Channel this holiday season, written by yours truly. As always, #DDMF and #GTHC.

What's the best NBA team you could make out of Duke players? Ryan-- @TheDukeNation on Twitter-- and I set out to answer that question with a snake-style fantasy draft. Do we go with talent? Roster versatility? Offense or defense or both? You'll have to listen to find out! (When you finish the episode, tweet at us with #TeamRussell or #TeamRyan-- let us know who did the better job!) With the Fayetteville State preseason game looming tonight, we also discuss what we've seen/heard so far in the preseason with the Blue-White Game and the Houston secret scrimmage. Is there anything to be learned in the preseason? What do we expect tonight? Is Tyrese Proctor *really* as good as I've been saying he is to anyone who would listen since June? Find out all this and more! Per usual, please shoot any and all feedback to @DukeBetter, and I'll hope to improve with Episode 16. (Also, go follow Ryan on Twitter-- @TheDukeNation.) Finally, please listen until the end to hear me plug my new movie coming out-- and please make sure to tune in when it airs! As always, #DDMF and #GTHC.

New year, new coach, new players-- an astonishing amount of unknowns heading into next Duke season, perhaps more than there've been in 40+ years. And we see a wide range of expectations from fans on social media. So I figured it'd be worth breaking down the individual players on an offseason episode-- what their best possible realistic outcome would be, what their worst possible realistic outcome would be, and, assuming that most players land somewhere in the middle, what should a reasonable expectation be, for both the players as individuals and for the team as a whole? So to discuss this, I brought in everyone's favorite Duke not-insider, Zion Olojede, a.k.a. @DukeNBA on Twitter. We go down the roster, from the freshmen to the grad seniors, and discuss the upside, the downside, and everything in between. We dive deep, so strap in! Once again, it's a long episode-- this is what happens when I go so long between episodes!-- so buckle in and enjoy. Per usual, please shoot any and all feedback to @DukeBetter, and I'll hope to improve with Episode 15. (Also, go follow Zion on Twitter-- @DukeNBA and @ZionOlojede.) As always, #DDMF and #GTHC.

The NBA Draft is tomorrow, and Duke Twitter is abound with questions like: where do we want Duke players to go? who's being undervalued? who's being *overvalued*? and why are some of these other guys getting taken above our beloved Duke players? So I invited back America's favorite objective college basketball voice, Jim Root from the Three Man Weave, to discuss these and several other questions, including some of our favorite sleepers in the draft, why there's such disparity between mocks... and if we were starting an NBA team and could only choose Duke players, how would we rank the players? Once again, it's a long episode-- I can't help it! I hadn't done an episode in so long!-- so buckle in and enjoy. Per usual, please shoot any and all feedback to @DukeBetter, and I'll hope to improve with Episode 14. (Also, go follow Jim on Twitter-- @2ndChancePoints-- and check out his podcasts/YouTube shows.) As always, #DDMF and #GTHC.

The offseason is here, so I've invited Jim back to get an objective voice into the mix as we play Fact or Myth about a number of Duke/ACC/NCAA topics. Including: - Is Paolo Banchero a Top 4 one-and-done in Duke history? - Would you rather have sophomore Trevor Keels or an elite transfer? - Is Jeremy Roach a Top 2 ACC PG next season? - Will Duke bring in any big names from the portal? - What's Duke's biggest problem next season? - Will Duke have a first or second-team All-American? - Is UNC overrated going into next season? - Will Virginia lose double-digit games again? - Is the WCC holding back Gonzaga? - Is the transfer portal bad for college basketball? - Should Duke fans expect notable stylistic changes as they move from K to Scheyer? - and, finally, and most stupidly, is Duke better off without Emoni Bates? It's a long episode, so buckle in and enjoy. Per usual, please shoot any and all feedback to @DukeBetter, and I'll hope to improve with Episode 13. (Also, go follow Jim on Twitter-- @2ndChancePoints-- and check out his podcasts/YouTube shows.) As always, #DDMF and #GTHC.

Listen to this if you enjoy the unhinged ramblings of a man grappling with the reality that there are possible outcomes in which Duke loses to its rival on Saturday, and allow him to explain, through incoherent mumbling and bursts of manic laughter, that the stakes have never been higher, and all fans can do is pray the coin lands on the correct side.

After a wonderful weekend of basketball, beer, and Banchero, I discuss the narrative of "the ACC is underrated" and dive into the matchup with Texas Tech. Per usual, please shoot any and all feedback to @DukeBetter, and I'll hope to improve with Episode 11. As always, #DDMF and #GTHC.

Welcome new listeners! Your boy is back post-Selection Sunday with a *lot* of thoughts. I discuss Duke getting a 2 seed (undeserved!), Duke's first weekend draw (not bad!), Duke's possible second weekend draw (real bad!), and how to win your bracket pool (by listening to me!). Per usual, please shoot any and all feedback to @DukeBetter, and I'll hope to improve with Episode 10. Let's pray to God that we have a great opening weekend of the Dance. As always, #DDMF and #GTHC!

After a long and much needed break, I had a lot to talk about-- so I brought in my friend Jim Root from Three Man Weave and Field of 68 to talk analytics, bracketology, Duke's chances at a 1 seed, Duke's strengths and weaknesses as a tournament team, and, finally, which teams would Duke want to see (and avoid) in their region. Per usual, please shoot any and all feedback to @DukeBetter, and I'll hope to improve with Episode 9. (Also, go follow Jim on Twitter-- @2ndChancePoints-- and check out his podcasts/YouTube shows.) As always, #DDMF and #GTHC.

What a glorious weekend it's been! Duke beat a very inferior UNC team, as we expected, and I discuss Paolo's game, the talent disparity between the teams, and how you can prove statistically that UNC's best chance to win the game was before opening tip. Later, I do a mailbag section, answering questions from Twitter, discussing zone defense, Jeremy Roach as a starter, tempo of play, and more. Per usual, please shoot any and all feedback to @DukeBetter, and I'll hope to improve with Episode 8. As always, #DDMF and #GTHC.

With UNC this weekend, I wanted to give you all the episode you can handle. Within, I discuss the state of the ACC, Duke's surging defense, and the lunacy of the Mark Williams vs. Leaky Black "debate." I then dive headfirst into the matchup vs. UNC, the difficulty Bacot will pose for our bigs, the unstoppability of Paolo, and how Bates Jones-- yes, Bates Jones-- could be the secret sauce that leads to an easier-than-normal win for Duke. Per usual, please shoot any and all feedback to @DukeBetter, and I'll hope to improve with Episode 7. As always, #DDMF and #GTHC.

So much episode today after last night's hard-to-watch near-loss to Clemson. Within, I discuss the consistency of our biggest red flags and the most alarming problem Duke has faced in ACC play... but I also touch upon recent improvements that give me hope, such as our veteran perimeter shooting and the play of Jeremy Roach. Finally, I address the upcoming road slate and just how thin the odds are at emerging from these next three games with a 3-0 record. Per usual, please shoot any and all feedback to @DukeBetter, and I'll hope to improve with Episode 6. As always, #DDMF and #GTHC.

A short, unprepared, off-the-cuff episode after last night's heartbreaking loss to FSU. Within, I discuss KenPom's "Luck" metric and how it might hold hope for Duke going forward, the way that we can win games without good defensive rebounding, and the post-game overreaction and how to try to keep your personal panic button from flashing when you're feeling frustrated. Per usual, please shoot any and all feedback to @DukeBetter, and I'll hope to improve with Episode 5. As always, #DDMF and #GTHC.

Yet another journey through Duke basketball numbers. Within, I discuss the importance of defensive rebounding, the post-COVID pause struggles of Wendell Moore, and the matchup issues that Florida State will present next week. I also couldn't help but discuss the current discourse around Baylor and Gonzaga and the problems with judging teams based on small sample sizes, past tournament success, and other factors that aren't effective tools for measuring a team's strength-- and I drop some shocking truths about how the WCC compares to the ACC this year. Per usual, please shoot any and all feedback to @DukeBetter, and I'll hope to improve with Episode 4. As always, #DDMF and #GTHC.

Another twenty-minute journey through Duke basketball numbers. Within, I discuss the impact of the win over Wake Forest: the significance of Quadrant 1 wins this year, the weakness of the ACC, and our historical struggles in early ACC road games against Top 80 opponents. I also discuss the impact when Paolo Banchero leads the team in field goal attempts. Per usual, please shoot any and all feedback to @DukeBetter, and I'll hope to improve with Episode 3. As always, #DDMF and #GTHC.

A twenty-minute journey through a few interesting numbers that can hopefully help us understand our beloved Duke basketball a little better. Within, I discuss the fact that the best team doesn't always win the title, the statistical impact of Charlie Moore's late game circus shot, why Vegas always wins, and how close wins and losses shouldn't drastically impact our perception of either team, among other things. This is a pilot episode, still figuring out what this could be, if anything at all. Please shoot any and all feedback to @DukeBetter, and I'll hope to improve with Episode 2. As always, #DDMF and #GTHC.